Texans Give Death Penalty Views in SHSU Crime Poll

Dennis Longmire

The results of the most recent Texas Crime Poll show that
a majority of Texans agreed with the recent U.S. Supreme Court's
decision to ban the execution of juvenile murderers and an
even larger majority supported legislation that would establish
a true life sentence without the possibility of parole.

Results from a statewide mail survey completed by the Survey
Research Program at Sam Houston State University's College
of Criminal Justice show that 3 of 4 Texans (77 percent) continued
to support the use of capital punishment in general.

Almost 3 out of 5 Texans (57 percent) agreed with the recent
U. S. Supreme Court ruling banning the practice of executing
juveniles who were under the age of 18 at the time of their
crime.

Almost 7 in 10 (69 percent) of those responding to the survey
said they were "strongly" (49 percent) or "somewhat"
(20 percent) in favor of legislation establishing a true life
sentence without the possibility of parole as an option to
give jurors in capital cases.

Under current Texas law, an offender sentenced to prison for
a term of "capital life" becomes eligible for parole
after being held for 40 years.

"These findings show that most Texans support last week's
Supreme Court decision," said Dennis Longmire, director
of the Survey Research Program and author of the report.

"It looks like the Court got it right when the majority
opinion in Roper vs. Simmons concluded that executing juveniles
would offend the sensibilities of most Americans. Even those
of us in the most active death penalty state in the nation
seem to have reached the same conclusion."

More than 3 of 4 (78 percent) Texans "strongly"
(45 percent) or "somewhat" (33 percent) favored
creation of a special commission to study different issues
related to the state's death penalty system. Such issues included
the quality of legal counsel being provided to indigent capital
defendants and sufficiency of appellate review of capital
convictions.

Almost 9 of 10 (88 percent) supported creation of a commission
to look into issues associated with the use of available technology,
such as DNA evidence, to increase the certainty that innocent
people are not erroneously convicted of capital crime. Only
3 of 8 (37 percent) "strongly" (26 percent) or "somewhat"
(11 percent) favored such a commission looking at race as
a factor in capital case decisions.

"Texas may be known as a place where criminals can expect
'hard justice' if they're convicted of a crime but it is clear
from the survey results that most Texans want to make sure
the system distributing it is fair and certain," said
Longmire.

In the past two years the Houston Police Department Crime
lab has had a number of problems including poor training,
possible evidence contamination, and evidence chain-of-custody
record keeping.

One proposed solution is a Forensic Science Review Committee
under the jurisdiction of the Department of Public Safety.
Specific legislation concerning these issues was filed recently
by state Reps. Kevin Bailey, D-Houston, and Robert Talton,
R-Pasadena for this legislative session.

More than 7 of 8 Texans responding to the survey said they
would require employees in these labs to meet certification
standards and to be routinely re-certified, and that the Department
of Public Safety should establish protocols for examination
of evidence in a forensic laboratory.

Other items included in the survey focused on possible legislation
concerning the certification standards required for sheriffs
and constables, the prosecution of murderers convicted of
killing a peace officer and restricting the residential choices
available for convicted sex offenders.

Additionally, questions were asked about legislation aimed
at efforts to insure that foreign nationals who are arrested
in Texas are provided access to their country's foreign counsel
before being questioned by a police officer.

The survey also included questions addressing issues such
as the modification of existing practices by the Board of
Pardons and Paroles when they are considering clemency requests
from capital cases, issues associated with the execution of
the mentally retarded, and revising the state's definition
of "criminal insanity."

There were also questions that allow for a comparison of how
satisfied Texans are with state, county, and local criminal
justice system activities today compared with those same feelings
in 2000.

"Questions included in this year's survey were developed
to capture citizens' attitudes about a variety of hot-topic
issues our state's legislators are likely to be considering
during this session," said Longmire.

This is the 38th consecutive year the Texas Crime Poll has
been conducted by the Survey Research Program of Sam Houston
State University's College of Criminal Justice.

The survey results have a margin of error of (+/-) 3.6 percent
and reflect the opinions of 560 adults living in Texas who
completed a survey distributed through the mail in October
2004. Surveys were sent to 2,463 households, with a return
rate of 22.8 percent.

Copies of the general report and three "special issue"
reports available to legislators can be accessed online
through the University's Survey Research Program Website.